The Daily IIJ

FROM NEWTON SIBANDA in Potsdam, Germany

A German climate change expert Georg Feulner  has ruled out the feasibility of liquid biofuel as an alternative to fossil fuels in the transport sector. Dr Fuelner , a climate systems analyst at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said while biofuels could help to reduce climate change and cut down costs of fossil fuels, they were not viable from the energy efficiency point of view.
“From the energy efficiency point of view, liquid biofuel is plain stupid for the transport sector.
In general, it is not an idea that should be exploited. There are only very few examples around the world, where we can see a sustainable production of biofuels.”,” said Dr Feulner, who is also a member of the German advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU).
Biofuels can help to mitigate climate change if they do not lead to deforestation and do not affect food production, among other negative possibilities.
“Biofuels for transportation are not feasible. There are more intelligent processes that can be thought of like producing electricity from biofuels,” he said.
Dr Feulner said electric cars were the future though they would for a long time remain unaffordable for the developing world.
“So, intermediary solutions will be necessary,” he said.
“Also, hybrid cars are the logical intermediate step between traditional cars and electric vehicles.
And what will be affordable to developing countries depends also on the outcome of climate negotiations: These countries may benefit from a global carbon market, where they could sell emission allowances and invest into green technology.”

The global challenges posed by climate change have generated a surge of industry solutions that include biofuels.
Scientists, oil companies, governments and politicians around the world are promoting biofuel as the energy of the future: a renewable, environment-friendly alternative to crude oil and coal.
In addition to climate change and the urgent need to find a solution, interest in biofuels is also fired by high oil prices, political uncertainties in petroleum-producing countries and dire predictions that the world is running out of fossil fuels.
Zambia has not been spared from the euphoria for the ‘wonder fuel’ from plants such as jatropha.